Oral health situation of a non-urban region in Tanzania

Objectives The dental treatment in the Tanzanian highlands is challenging. Due to the reduced infrastructure, the caries prevalence and subsequently the prosthetic treatment demand of the local population is heavily increased. The aim of this study was to investigate the general oral health situation of dental patients in a non-urban region of Tanzania. Methods: 1521 patients were included in this study (937 female, 582 male; age 20.4 ± 10.5 years, range 3 to 82 years). Patients were treated in a dental office in Njombe. dmft-Index (0-6 years) and DMFT-Index, edentulousness situation, nutrition habits, and socio-economic factors were collected. Results: The dmft-Index of the treated patients was 4.5; the DMFT-Index was 5.8. Massive sugar containing nutrition was detected anamnestically in 44.9% of the study participants. 59.74% of the patients suffered from general dental plaque, and 31.94% showed isolated dental plaque. In 8.30% of the investigated patients, no dental plaque was detectable. In 97.83% of the patients, oral hygiene products were known. 21.63% of the study participants required treatment for an acute malocclusion. Conclusions The oral health situation of the patients showed a restorative and prosthetic treatment demand. In addition, the education of sufficient oral health and the dissemination of oral health products are imperative. The main goal of further studies must be the development of interdisciplinary infection prophylaxis and oral health prophylaxis systems. Keywords: caries incidence, Tanzania, general oral health, epidemiology